Transmaniacon – The Darkening Plain

1537 is at it again.*

There I was, innocently reading along on his blog (a post about this very release), when he mentioned in the comments that a copy was available here in Canada, on Discogs, for ten bucks. Later, somehow, I’d placed an order and this LP was on its way to my house. Funny how that happens…

I highly suggest you go read 1537’s review on this release, as he nailed everything I could have hoped to have said (and a lot more I’m not equipped enough to have thought of), and he writes knowledgeably about the how and why of the project.  Seriously, go now.

So. What a good thing this platter got here. Seriously, this is an amazing freak-out of sludgy metal rock, unapologetically lean and strong. There’s more than a little Sabbath and Purple in all this, and a bunch of doom too… but most importantly for them, I think Transmaniacon are their own beast. An unrestrained, full-on beast. This is less homage than straight-up scouring of your senses and brain. It roils, it buzzes like a chainsaw, it menaces your aunties. YES. Hell, the opening track is 24 minutes…

One word review: EPIC.

And yes, as you’ll have noticed in the pic above, it’s on awesome-looking red/black spatter vinyl (180g, natch), with gatefold and printed insert… and there’s only 300 of them in the world. Oooo, the precious!

 

* He got me into the Shrine, Red Fang, and now these guys, too… T’is a pleasing trend developing here, folks…